


The Clock Strikes at Midnight

by Linorien



Series: The Long and Wondrous Road [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Merlin - Fandom
Genre: And Merlin is still waiting for Arthur, In which Jethro is Merlin, Only better because I wrote it, Yet another crossover with Midnight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-29
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-03-09 13:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3251174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still waiting for Arthur, Merlin hears of a crystal planet and decides to investigate its possible connection to the crystal cave. Only it is far more dangerous than it initially seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Extrapolate

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is a crossover with that Doctor Who episode but the others in series will not necessarily be.

Chapter 1: Extrapolate

A brisk autumn wind stirred up the fallen leaves and whisked them past the window. The young man sitting at the desk inside the sixth floor flat in central London glanced at them briefly before returning his attention to the computer screen. He was working with dual monitors and a tattered old book laying open before him, pages held flat by the latest music playing device, a sleek black Hornbow 5. Maybe a paperweight wasn't its intended use but it did the job nicely.

The man sat with his fingers dancing deftly over the keys as he typed up the words written in his journal centuries ago. Then his fingers paused and he poked at the screen on the right. The screen reloaded while he resumed typing.  He was meant to be working on typing these journals, but there are just so many good educational videos to watch on YouTube. This meant typing was only accomplished during the end credits and the preroll ad for the next video.

"... made entirely of crystals!" The fingers paused mid-word. His eyes flicked up to the right screen. "No living being has ever set foot on this planet, it has remained constant for all time. Now here's your chance to witness this marvel for yourselves. A chance for you and your family to take an all expenses paid trip to the planet Midnight! Simply complete a simple survey and you could be picked to win!"

The man then did what no one does on purpose: he clicked the ad.

It looked like a hoax but with a little poking around it was still holding firm. This was a real contest. Given that he was trying to avoid being known to the government, he thought it best not to apply for himself.

He closed out of the webpage and started the actual video. But his mind kept wandering.

"Stop it Merlin," he muttered to himself. "Not every crystal is connected to the crystal cave. You are overreacting. Just stay here." But really, he wasn't doing much right now. A few years prior he was working as a consultant for gaming company. He had started as a young programmer and had enjoyed working his way up through the company and making friends along the way. As an old man once more he had served as a consultant  until he announced his retirement and disappeared, regaining his younger appearance. He loved the virtual reality games best.  He thought it was brilliant to immerse yourself in a separate reality and have it feel so real. He had quickly realised the potential of having a virtual world to practice big magic and other fighting arts so over the years he had designed a custom one at home.

It was to there that he presently retreated. He downloaded what available info there was about the planet Midnight and started sorting. He sat down in a wicker chair on the front porch of a large country estate. Looking out all he could see were the rolling hills and a few sheep.

"Display all info concerning Midnight." A wall of glowing text floated before him. "Eliminate conspiracy theories but keep legends, myths, and folklore." Almost half of the text disappeared. "Highlight geographical info. Construct flyover."

"Insufficient data."

"Shoot. Erm. Extrapolate from available data."

"Insufficient data."

"Darn. Old fashioned way then. Compile available data into book." A book appeared in his lap and he settled down to read.

 

 


	2. Putting up with Parents

Chapter 2: Putting up with Parents

Merlin had determined that he had to get to this crystal planet. The contest had passed but he realised his key to getting there could still be found in the contest. The winners were a middle aged couple with no kids. It might be complicated, but with a bit of work he could convince them that he was their teenage son.

Which is why, three months later, he is now standing in line to board the craft that would take them from Earth to the Star Sphere Spaceport. From there they would travel on a warp drive ship. Which was good. Already Merlin, or Jethro as he was now going by, was getting fed up with his "parents" and their constant bad jokes. He had been a part of many families in the past but he was sure none were as obnoxious as Val and Biff. Thank the goddess for warp drive and headphones.

 

In the early hours of the next day they left warp drive and came into orbit above the planet. Eagerly Merlin rushed to the observatory deck and gazed down at the planet below. It was gorgeous.

The lack of a typical atmosphere left a cloudless sky and an uninstructed view down to the surface below. And boy oh boy did it shine.

The sunlight glistened and danced from diamond to diamond, refracting and reflected, brilliant lights cascading in waterfalls across the surface. The whole surface was sparkling with a light that only got brighter as they descended.

Yet as they descended, Merlin noticed something much more important. He could feel a tugging in his gut; similar to when he approaches the crystal cave. It was the feeling of his magic being sucked away from him. His eyes grew wide and he threw up a hasty barrier to protect himself. He retreated hastily to his quarters and constructed a more permanent reflector barrier before bottling up his magic like he did long ago in Camelot.

His magic protested and he knew that all these centuries later it would be even harder to keep it contained; his power had never stopped growing. It was painful now to keep it all in. It was going to be even easier than he thought to act like a teenager again; he really did want to avoid all human contact and lose himself in his music. Which is precisely what he did  

Jamming his headphones in he hit shuffle and laid back on his bed. _I've got the magic, in me!_

"Seriously?" He rolled his eyes and stabbed the skip button. The next song was a newer rock song about flying across the universe. "Much better."

 

The expedition didn't leave until tomorrow so Merlin had some time to explore. Not that there was much to explore. Because of the Xtonic rays unique to the planet that supposedly was great for tanning. Which naturally meant that the planet was primarily a spa resort. But he was sure he could find something else to help his investigations.

In the hallway leading to the antigravity restaurant he found what he was looking for. Presumably intended to provide some entertainment while waiting in line before the dinner opened in the evening, prints were hung on the wall explaining the history of the resort. It began only twenty years ago when a Professor Simeon of Tessalii University had trained his telescope to this system and decided to study this little system. Him and his team send out spacecraft and determined that there was no sign of any life. This planet in particular had fascinated him because of the strange gasses he had detected. He called it Midnight because he couldn't even see the planet until his spacecraft entered the system. Of course it was upon this closer inspection that he discovered the composition of the surface and the fact that it had no air. He published his findings in the Exoplanet Nature journal and then this company found it.

Seven years ago they had lowered the main building down, set a small space port into orbit, equipped both with teleporter pads and business started up.

From then on the posters only described the success of the company and the many additions to the Midnight base. Evidently next year they would be adding a good old fashioned laser tag arena decorated with harvested crystals for an extra challenge.

His pocket vibrated and he pulled out his phone. Val's face popped up with a message.

"Where are you? Our dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace is in five minutes."

"I'll be right there." He hit send and regretfully put his fact finding mission on hold.

 

 


	3. Funny Feelings

Chapter 3: Funny Feelings

 

In the morning Merlin rose at his normal early hour and went to sit and meditate by the pool. He had picked up the habit while living in India a few decades ago and found it very good for calming his magic. Although he had not kept up the practice as often as he would've liked, he easily slipped into the rhythmic breathing and let his mind calm down. His magic was swirling and churning just beneath the surface, straining to be let out of the cage. Cautiously, Merlin let a small tendril of power out and watched it dance around under the morning light filtering in through the dome, bringing an equally bright smile to his face.

Only for a moment though before he felt a tug on his magic once more, stronger now that he was on the surface, and pulled it back inside himself. It protested but after a long meditation period it was at least not constantly trying to escape his careful bounds that would keep his magic undetectable inside him.

Eventually it was his stomach that actually reminded him that he hadn't eaten yet.

After lunch with his adopted parents, who really weren't too bad once they relaxed, they all began boarding the craft that would take them out to the sapphire waterfalls and the crystal ravines. They handed their tickets over and they were ushered aboard with a smile. Val and Biff sat together and Merlin chose a seat across the aisle from them. Isolated but not far enough to be rude. At least that's what he thought.

"Don't be silly," Val said. "Come and sit with us. Look, we get slippers." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm sitting here," he retorted.

"Oh he's ashamed of us," Biff announced to the rest of the passengers. "But he doesn't mind us paying, does he?"

Merlin felt a twinge of guilt at this, after all they hadn't actually asked to suddenly gain a child, let alone one as self sufficient as him. He had latched onto then like a leech. Then he remembered that they had won the contest and weren't paying at all. And there weren’t even three seats. He let out a small snort of amusement and curled up in his seat, earphones already pumping his audiobook of _DragonSong_ by Anne McCaffery directly into his ears. It was going to be an enjoyable four hours.

Only then the hostess decided to demonstrate all the different options on the entertainment system. All at once. Merlin wasn't the only one who looked disgusted at this. There was a buzzing noise that he wasn't sure anyone else was able to hear but suddenly the entire system shut down. The man at the front seemed sarcastically surprised, as if he had something to do with it stopping. It didn't really matter to Merlin, as long as it wasn't on.

Only now the man suggested that they could all talk to each other for four hours. In normal circumstances thus would be perfectly acceptable. But keeping his magic bottled up was leaving him in a foul mood and he really wanted to know what would happen next to Menoly at Harper Hall. So his earphones stayed in and he shut his eyes.

 

That worked for approximately two chapters. The man didn't have much luck getting people to talk until he asked Biff and Val if they had any funny stories from previous vacations. Merlin groaned as the distinctive voice of Val began to cut through the narration. There would be no concentrating on his book now, back to music it was.

He did feel a twinge of sympathy for the other passengers without headphones. In the span of the five days which he had been staying with Val and Biff as their son, he had heard the same cycle of six stories enough times to have memorised then all. It was almost guaranteed that they would be told at least twice on this trip. He turned up the volume louder and focused on tapping out the baseline with his fingers on his leather bracelet.

 

Shortly after the rounds of crazy stories from the different passengers, the man who started all this talking came and threw himself into the seat next to Merlin. He raised an eyebrow but pulled out his earphones.

"Yes?"

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself. "You're Jethro, correct?"

"That's the name they gave me." He jerked his head across the aisle as he said this. Which was true; when he was tampering with their memories he had come across the baby name they would've chosen if Val had been able to conceive.

"Jethro Cane. A good name."

"And people just call you The Doctor?"

"Yup!" Merlin found himself warming to the man. At the very least it kept his mind away from his trapped magic.

"What are you a doctor of?"

"Lots of things. Mainly science, but right now I'm just here to have fun."

"I'm guessing you do a lot of fun adventuring."

The Doctor's smile lessened and he cocked his head to the side. "What makes you say that?"

"Just a funny feeling," he shrugged. "I'm usually really good at reading people."

"We'll you're correct. What else does your funny feeling tell you?" The Doctor asked as he turned in the seat to face Merlin fully. For his part, Merlin closed his eyes and tentatively sent a minuscule amount of magic out to see what he could detect. Non-human, quite old but with a strong life force still, buried hurt with a kind heart. It was almost like looking at himself. He knew his face would've betrayed a flicker of surprise but as he looked at the Doctor again he replied in an even voice, "I can tell that you have a kind spirit and a fierce protective streak."

"Is that all?" he prompted with a raised eyebrow. But no one has ever been able to match the feared eyebrow raise of Gaius so it was easy to deny sensing anything else. The Doctor didn't seem to believe him but brushed past it with another question. "So what do you like to do for fun?"

"Designing video games," Merlin replied immediately. "The virtual reality kind are the best because you get to completely immerse yourself in a new world with new rules and everything."

"Similar to lucid dreaming."

"Exactly. I use it sometimes to train my muscle memory without wearing myself out. Or sometimes to jog through the heyday of Greece while simply on the treadmill."

"That's brilliant!" The Doctor laughed. "There's certainly more to you than meets the eye." Merlin nearly froze up at that but he just gave a quirky smile and the Doctor plowed on. “When did you arrive on Midnight? Are you enjoying the palace?”

“Well, it’s not much like the palaces of old.” Merlin kept a serious face before the Doctor burst out laughing. “It’s not bad really; I was trying to find out more about the planet but there’s not much online and here it only mentions the barest basics on the wall outside the restaurant. Disappointing.”

“Actually.” The Doctor held up a finger and taped his lips in thought before lunging over the seat in front of him. “Professor Hobbes?” The man in question turned around. “You said you have done some research on the history of Midnight, right? Would you mind sharing some of that research with the rest of us?”

 

 


	4. The Calm and the Storm

Chapter 4: The Calm and the Storm

 

For some reason, Professor Hobbes kept an old school projector in his bag wherever he went and so the cabin was treated to an impromptu lecture on the orbital parameters and surface composition of Midnight. Merlin was leaning eagerly on the front of the seat in front of him; much like the Doctor he knew that there was something not quite right.

“So, this is Midnight, do you see,” Professor Hobbes was saying. “Bombarded by the sun. Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history.” He moved to kneel on the first row seat and stare intently at them. “There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing.”

“But how do you know?” Merlin asked. “I mean, if no one can go outside. Professor Simeons only observed from high above and took no pictures of the surface, only raw data.”

He thought it was an intelligent question but apparently Val disagreed. “Oh, his imagination. Here we go.” Merlin wanted to snap at her but the Doctor got there first.

“He's got a point, though.” Merlin’s opinion of the Doctor rose further.

“Exactly.” The Professor was delighted that someone else understood his fascination. “We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure  Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it.”

As if that was the trigger, the bus suddenly sputtered and ground to a halt.

Immediately people began asking if we had stopped, obviously, and if we were there yet, again obviously not. They had only traveled 252 kliks when the total distance was double that. The professor fervently said that in the fifteen times he had been on this trip it had never before stopped. The atmosphere was growing tense and panic was brewing.

“Well evidently we have stopped,” Sky snapped. “There’s no point in denying it.” Knowing the yelling would start soon, Merlin reflexively tried to lighten the atmosphere.

“We’ve broken down,” he grinned. “In the middle of nowhere!” His parents scolded him and no one laughed. The Doctor had also glanced over, not amused, but not scolding either. He looked like he was calculating as the hostess explained that the engines were stabilising. The Doctor pulled out a notepad and lied his way into the cabin. Merlin was hoping that he was thinking along the same lines he was. Because when he had looked up info about the Crusader vehicles he had seen the type of engine and it didn’t need to stabilise. That sounded like a cover excuse. Only the Doctor then came out after a minute looking thoughtful again but he too said it was stabilisation.

“Excuse me, Doctor.” Dee Dee leaned forward and spoke quietly. “But they’re micropetrol engines, aren’t they? My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn’t stabilise. What does stabilise mean?”

“Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don’t worry, they’re sorting it out.” Just as he thought. Although, if they didn’t really know what was wrong, then maybe there was something to worry about.

“How much air have we got?” Merlin sighed. Professors were suppose to be intelligent.

“Professor, it’s fine,” the Doctor reassured. Only his parents had heard.

“Are we running out of air?” Val asked.

“Is that right, miss?” Biff addressed him query to the hostess who had just reentered. “Are we running out of air?”

“Is that what the captain said?”

“If you could all just remain calm.” The hostess tried to calm them down but Merlin knew that wasn’t going to work well.

“How much air have we got?”

“Mum, just stop it,” Merlin snapped. But of course this didn’t work either. The Doctor, Dee Dee, and the Hostess tried to calm them down but they only became more hysteric and soon everyone else was shouting over each other.

“Quiet!” The Doctor finally made his shout loud enough and silence immediately fell. Merlin wondered if that was a special non-human superpower that he naturally had. “Thank you. Now if you’d care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee.” She was uncomfortable being given the metaphorical microphone but she stood and explained.

“Oh. Er, it's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing for ten years.”

“There you go.” The Doctor nodded to her. “And I've spoken to the Captain. I can guarantee you everything's fine.” But those were the worst words he could’ve said at that moment. Because that was always the worst thing to say when something might go wrong. How many times in Camelot had Merlin found that to be true. And even way out here in space, it once again proved true. The Doctor had jinxed them

Thump, thump.

 

 


	5. Knock Three Times (On the ceiling if you want me)

Chapter 5: Knock Three Times (On the ceiling if you want me)

 

“What was that?”

“It must be the metal. We're cooling down. It's just settling.”

“Rocks. It could be rocks falling.”

Merlin knew it was none of the above. He could sense something out there. Something was on the surface that wasn’t there before. He sent out a small probing tendril of his magic.

“What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here.”

His magic was ripped from his grip before he could get a feel for what was out there. Whatever it was, it thumped on the side of the bus once more. Louder this time and Merlin jumped to his feet. It was almost as if the little bit of Merlin’s magic had made it stronger.

“What is that?” Maybe it had made it stronger. Maybe that what he had felt pulling on his magic when they were still in orbit.

“There's someone out there.”

"Now, don't be ridiculous." Merlin slowly moved toward the aisle.

"Like I said, it could be rocks." Everyone else seemed frozen in place, only the Doctor and Merlin were moving. Like predators stalking their prey.

"We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides." They were all wrong and only two of them knew it.

Two more thumps sounded.

"Knock, knock," the Doctor joked with a wry tone.

"Who's there?" Merlin twitched an eyebrow and replied the same.

"Is there something out there?" Sky was panicking now. "Well? Anyone?"  Thump. Thump. "What the hell is making that noise?"

"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic." The professor was trying to use science, but sometimes science didn’t explain everything. "That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside." The thumping begged to differ.

"Well, what the hell is that, then?" Sky demanded.

"Sir," the hostess turned her attention to the Doctor who had moved towards the rear of the cabin. "You really should get back to your seat." The Doctor ignored her and pulled out his stereoscope to listen to the walls. Merlin spared a moment to wonder where he had pulled that from.

"Hello?" The Doctor asked the unknown. The unknown answered back with a quick double thump.

"It's moving," Merlin noted. The emergency exit rattled.

“It's trying the door.” Val was becoming more panicked, but still only the Doctor and Merlin had moved towards the sound. Everyone else was frozen in shock.

“There is no it. There's nothing out there. Can't be.” Despite his claims, it tried the emergency exit door once more before thumping on the roof and then at the entrance door.

“That's the entrance,” Val astutely noted. “Can it get in?”

“No,” Dee Dee denied. “That door's on two hundred weight hydraulics.”

Professor Hobbes and her bickered as Biff finally broke out of his frozen state only to move towards the door. For once, the Doctor and Val were in agreement that he should move away from the door.

“Nah, it's cast iron, that door.” He was trying to be tough. Make a show of not being afraid. He knocked smartly on the door three times as if to demonstrate how confident he was in it’s capability as a barricade. Only the knocks answered back. And they sounded three times.

“Three times,” Val said in wonderment and Biff scrambled back from the door. “Did you hear that? It did it three times.”

Merlin was amazed. “It answered.” No doubt about it being a living thing now. A living thing that was trying to get to him and his magic. In no way was that good.

“It did it three times!” Val exclaimed as if she was the only one who noticed.

“All right, all right, all right. Everyone calm down.”

“No, but it answered.” Sky refused to listen to the Doctor’s calming voice. “It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him.” Three knocks sounded again and the hostess now tried to calm everyone down and have them return to their seats. “No, don't just stand there telling us the rules. You're the hostess. You're supposed to do something!”

The Doctor knocked on the door four times. There is a long pause before he receives  four thumps in reply.

Sky now started backing away towards the corner of the bus. “What is it? What the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop.” She was boarding on hysterics now. “Somebody make it stop. Don't just stand there looking at me. It's not my fault. He started it with his stories.” Others tried to calm her down. “And he made it worse! Why didn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me. Just tell me what the hell it is.” The knocking started again and Merlin couldn’t think with all the racket going on. “It's coming for me. Oh, it's coming for me.” She had backed completely into the corner like a trapped animal. “It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me.” Suddenly she let out a piercing shriek of blood freezing terror.

“Get out of there!” The Doctor yelled, reaching a hand out to her. But just then the entire craft was hit violently and everything went black.

 

 


	6. Only an Echo in the Darkness

Chapter 6: Only an Echo in the Darkness

 

The shuttle rocked back and forth violently, flinging its passengers across the aisles and raining suitcases down from the overhead compartments. Only the sparks exploding somewhere in the chaos provided any light by which to try to avoid smashing your head against a seatback. Then the craft was still and the entertainment system, of all things, switched back on.

“How are we? Everyone alright?” Merlin hear the Doctor ask as he pulled himself up off the floor.

“Earthquake. Must be.” Professor Hobbes immediately tried to explain the crash with science.

“But that's impossible.” Dee Dee had it right. “The ground is fixed. It's solid.”

“We've got torches. Everyone take a torch. They're in the back of the seats.” The hostess herself had grabbed a light and flicked it on, allowing everyone else to reach for their nearest torch as well. For all that Merlin didn’t like them as parents, Val and Biff immediately shined their lights over in his direction to check if he was alright.

“Oh, Jethro. Sweetheart, come here.”

But Merlin was focused on someone else. The sense of a foreign presence was stronger now. As if it was closer. Closer as in inside of the bus and in the corner where he was aiming his own torch. “Never mind me. What about her?”

Sky was crouched alone in the corner of the bus among the remains of the front row of seats.

“What happened to the seats?” Val asked.

“Who did that?” Biff added.

“They've been ripped up.” Turns out his adopted parents were actually quite decent in a crisis.

“It's alright, it's alright, it's alright,” the Doctor reassured everyone. “It's over. We're still alive. Look, the wall's still intact. Do you see?” Merlin glanced over to see that, yes, the wall was still intact, but it was dented inward. He had a very good idea of how much force that would take and his estimation of this creature grew. “We're safe.”

A bright light suddenly floods the room and Merlin whips around to see the hostess standing silhouetted in front of an open door. An alarm sounds and she slams her palm on the button to shut the door again.

“What happened? What was that?”

“Is it the driver? Have we lost the driver?”

The hostess turned to look at them in shock. “The cabin's gone.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Professor Hobbes scoffed. “It can't be gone. How can it be gone?”

“Well, well, you saw it.”

“There was nothing there, like it was ripped away.” The hostess continued trying to digest this information while the Doctor ran and crouched in front of a metal panel in the wall.

Biff also noticed and walked over.”What are you doing?”

“Ah, that's better. Little bit of light. Thank you. Molto bene.”

“Do you know what you're doing?” Val asked.

“The cabin's gone,” Biff added. “You'd better leave that wall alone.” As if he was in charge. If it was up to Merlin, right now he would gladly follow the Doctor’s lead. The man seemed good in a crisis and there was a sense of wisdom buried beneath his perpetual grin.

“The cabin can't be gone.” The same sense of wisdom could not be said to apply to the professor. Merlin turned his attention back to Sky. Throughout all this she had not moved. She stayed curled up in the corner, hands clamped tight over her ears, not making a sound. Something was not right.

“Doctor, look at her,” he said.

“Right. Yes. Sorry.” The Doctor bounded up and strode to Merlin’s side. “Have we got a medical kit?”

“Why won't she turn around?” Merlin asked him.

“What's her name?” he asked as he moved forward.

The hostess replied, “Silvestry. Mrs Sky Silvestry.”

“Sky?” the Doctor asked gently. “Can you hear me?” He knelt in front of her. “Are you all right? Can you move, Sky? Just look at me.”

“That noise from outside,” Merlin added, beginning to find further proof for his funny feeling. “It's stopped.”

Val let out a relieved sigh. “Well, thank God for that.”

Merlin nearly rolled his eyes. “But what if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?”

“Inside? Where?”

“It was heading for her.”

“Sky?” The Doctor continued. “It's alright, Sky. I just want you to turn around, face me.” Very slowly, almost mechanically, Sky lowered her hands and turned around to face the Doctor. “Sky?”

“Sky?” she answered back, sounding confused.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked.

“Are you alright?’ she parroted him.

“Are you hurt?”

“Are you hurt?” Again she copied him.

“You don't have to talk.”

“You don't have to talk.” This was going past the point of just post traumatic stress now. Something was very, very wrong.

“I'm trying to help.”

“I'm trying to help.”

“My name's the Doctor.”

“My name's the Doctor.”

“Okay, can you stop?” Despite his ever present hope, the Doctor knew she could not control this anymore than he could at the moment.

“Okay, can you stop?”

“I'd like you to stop.”

“I'd like you to stop.”

“Why's she doing that?” Hobbes asked. Sky whipped her head to face him and repeated him as well.

“Why's she doing that?”

“She's gone mad,” Biff said and the same thing happened.

“She's gone mad.” Panic was once more setting in as everyone tried to tell Sky to stop repeating their words. Seeing that that was only proving a well tested conclusion, Merlin tried a different form of speech. He reached out with his mind to communicate as he used to with the druids.

 _"My name’s Jethro_ ," he said. No use giving this creature his real name. No answer came. Just the briefest flicker of her eyes in his direction and a flash of confusion before repeating the Doctor’s latest words.

“Shush, shush, shush, all of you.” But Merlin had to make sure it wasn’t some weird fluke of his magic that protected him from being repeatable.

“My name's Jethro,” he said aloud this time, smiling a smile that fell as soon as she spoke his words back at him.

“My name's Jethro.”

“Jethro, leave it. Just shut up,” the Doctor, and then Sky, scolded him. “Why are you repeating?” he asked of Sky.

“Why are you repeating?”

“What is that, learning?”

“What is that, learning?” Now that was an interesting theory. Merlin had noticed that she was acting less rigid now. Her repetition was faster, more confident.

“The square root of pi is 1.772453850905516027298167483341. Wow.” Amazingly, Sky was only a few digits behind him and kept pace exactly with him, never lagging or pausing in her echo.

“But that's impossible.” Professor Hobbes again, denier of the obvious.

“But that's impossible.”

The rest of the cabin starting freaking out again. Dee Dee was stunned, Val couldn’t stand her stare, Biff getting angry, the hostess confused, the Doctor trying to get everyone to shut up, and Sky repeating all of this. She never lost track of everything that was going on. She was also mimicking inflections in speech and volume too now.

“She can copy anything,” Merlin muttered to himself.

“She can copy anything.”

“Biff, don't just stand there, do something. Make her stop.”

“Biff, don't just stand there, do something. Make her stop.”

“You're scaring my wife.” Right, because that would make her stop.

“You're scaring my wife.”

“Six, six, six.” Oops. Merlin’s inner mischievous teenager had slipped out.

“Six, six, six.” At least he currently looked like a teen and it could be excused.

“She's different. She's something else. Do something. Make her stop,” Val whined.

“Make her stop,” Sky repeated. Hang on. That was different. The lights came back on and everyone stopped talking.

“That's the backup system,” the Hostess explained, relieved that it had finally kicked in. Only, something was missing.

“Well, that's a bit better.” Biff had released some of the tension in his shoulders and rubbed his wife’s back as she inquired how long the rescue vehicle would take to get here. Merlin was too preoccupied watching Sky to hear the answer. As the others kept talking, Sky’s mouth was moving. In exact time with them. They couldn’t hear the echo, because there was none.

 

 


	7. Sowing the Seeds

Chapter 7: Sowing the Seeds

 

There was really only one person who needed to be aware of this latest development. Merlin wasn’t too sure what he could do about it, but he was the person best suited to handling this crazy situation since Merlin was too terrified to use his magic and give the creature more strength. “Doctor,” he called quietly, cutting through the talking.

“I know,” he replied in the same tone.

“Doctor, now step back.” Hobbes hadn’t noticed yet. “I think you should leave her.” He paused when his brain caught up to what he was seeing. “Alone. What's she doing?”

“How can she do that?” Val asked, backing away still further. “She's talking with you. And with me. Oh, my God. Biff, what's she doing?”

“She's repeating, at exactly the same time,” Merlin explained.

“That's impossible.” Dee Dee was still living in a bubble of denial.

“There's not even a delay.”

Merlin couldn’t help the chills scurrying up the back of his neck. “Oh man, that is weird.”

“I think you should all be very, very quiet.” The Doctor looked like he was a little closer to figuring this out. “Have you got that?” Merlin and Dee Dee nodded in understanding but Val did not.

“How's she doing it?” Val and Sky asked together.

“Mrs Cane, please be quiet,” the Doctor reprimanded.

“How can she do that? She's got my voice! She's got my words!”

“Come on, be quiet,” Biff tried now. “Hush, now. Hush. She's doing it to me.”

“Just stop it, all of you. Stop it, please.” At last everyone stopped asking stupid questions. “Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry? You know exactly what I'm going to say. How are you doing that? Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Tardis. Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes, I am, thank you. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O.” He thought for a minute. “First she repeats, then she catches up. What's the next stage?”

“Next stage of what?” Dee Dee asked quietly, a shiver of fear colouring her voice.

“That's not her, is it?” Merlin didn’t want to risk searching for her life force, but he had a feeling that Sky was gone. The creature was just using her body as a host. An empty vessel. “That's not Mrs Silvestry any more.”

The Doctor glanced over at him, a look of sadness on his face. “I don't think so, no. I think the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for education, but in this case, maybe not. Let's just move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back. All of you, as far as you can.” He stood and tried to herd them to the opposite wall. “Val, come with me. Come to the back. Stop looking at her. Come on, Jethro. You too. Everyone, come on. Fifty minutes, that's all we need. Fifty minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong. Look at her. All she's got is our voices.”

Merlin pulled himself away and also walked to the back. He wasn’t sure the distance would have any effect but the Doctor was using it to make them feel more safe. Remove yourself physically and it felt like the threat was more distant as well. It was a psychological trick that Merlin had used before when trying to calm people down. Backing away after revealing his magic even though it made no difference; it only made them feel safer.

“I can't, I can't look at her. It's those eyes.” Val was visibly shaking now.

“We must not look at goblin men.” Merlin wanted to smack Dee Dee. Poetry was all well and good but not that poem and not in this situation.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Biff demanded.

The Doctor looked like he too wanted to sigh. “It's a poem. Christina Rossetti.”

“We must not look at goblin men,” Dee dee recited. “We must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed their hungry, thirsty roots?”

“Actually, I don't think that's helping.”

“She's not a goblin, or a monster.” Hobbes had regained his voice now. “She's just a very sick woman.”

“Maybe that's why it went for her,” Merlin realised.

“There is no it,” Professor Hobbes argued.

Merlin turned to look at him. “Think about it though. That knocking went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in.”

“For the last time. Nothing can live on the surface of Midnight.”

“Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, hmm? Now trust me, I've got previous.” Merlin didn’t doubt that statement for a minute. He had encountered some pretty strange creatures in his long life too. “I think there might well be some consciousness inside Mrs Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her.”

Biff was scornfully amused by what he saw as the Doctor’s naivety. “Well, you can help her. I'm not going near.”

“No, I've got to stay back, because if she's copying us, then maybe the final stage is becoming us.” Merlin’s eyes widened slightly. That could be very bad. “I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a whole lot worse.”

“Oh, like you're so special,” Val scoffed.

“As it happens, yes, I am. So that's decided. We stay back, and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital.” There was silence and people thought over what this meant. Merlin hoped they would just ignore the Doctor saying he was special. It was never a good idea to admit you are different in a tense situation.

“We should throw her out.” A quiet voice from the back drew their focus now.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Can we do that?”

“Don't be ridiculous.”

The Hostess continued her reasoning. “That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver, and the mechanic, and I don't think she's finished yet.”

“She can't even move!” The Doctor tried to restore reason but Merlin crumpled internally. The next stage in a crisis had begun.

“Look at her. Look at her eyes. She killed Joe, and she killed Claude, and we're next.”

“She's still doing it. Just stop it. Stop talking. Stop it!” Biff stormed forward and Merlin nearly lost it and screamed at the idiot. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration instead.

“Biff, don't, sweetheart.”

“But she won't stop. We can't throw her out, though. We can't even open the doors.”

“No one is getting thrown out.” The Doctor should’ve known this where this was going.

“Yes, we can,” Dee dee said and everyone turned to her. Merlin had been hoping no one else would realise what she clearly had. “Because there's an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out. You had a couple of seconds, because it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out.”

“Thanks, Dee Dee. Just what we needed,” the Doctor stole the words right from his mouth.

“Would it kill her outside?”

“I don't know. But she's got a body now. It would certainly kill the physical form.”

“No one is killing anyone.” The Doctor stated but the hostess wouldn’t give up.

“I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got that one. All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out.”

“Now, listen, all of you. For all we know that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, than what's it found? This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to, murder? Because this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?” A pretty good pre-battle speech. Merlin wondered if this Doctor had lead troops before. Really aside from his feeling that the Doctor was very much like himself, he wasn’t actually sure what made him trust this stranger. It typically took much longer for Merlin to warm to someone.

“I'd do it.” Merlin wanted to knock out the hostess. Just a good solid smack with his magic.

“So would I.” Let’s add Biff to that list.

“And me.”

“I think we should.” Val he had expected to agree, but not Dee dee.

“What?” The Doctor was just as amazed by her willingness to murder.

“I want her out.”

“You can't say that.”

“I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor. She is growing in strength.”

“That's not what I said.”

“I want to go home. I'm sorry. I want to be safe.” Fear, that’s all it was. Fear could drive people to do many things they wouldn't dream of doing otherwise. Merlin knew that first hand.

“You'll be safe any minute now. The rescue truck is on its way.”

“But what happens then, Doctor? If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilisation. What if it spreads?” Merlin hated to admit it, but the hostess had a good point.

“No, because when we get back to the base, I'll be there to contain it.” Only Merlin wasn’t sure he would agree with that statement. If he could contain it, why hadn’t he done anything yet.

“You haven't done much so far.”

“You're just standing in the back with the rest of us.”

“She's dangerous. It's my job to see that this vessel is safe, and we should get rid of her.”

“Now, hang on,” Professor Hobbes spoke up. “I think perhaps we're all going a little bit too far.”

“At last. Thank you.” He was glad to have someone on his side.

“Two people are dead.” The hostess was quite fixated on that. Although there was no way to prove that the creature had meant to kill them.

“Don't make it a third. Jethro, what do you say?”

“I'm not killing anyone,” Merlin said definitely.

“Thank you.”

“He's just a boy.”

Merlin was outraged that Val could think that way. “What, so I don't get a vote?”

“There isn't a vote.” Merlin conceded that maybe that wasn’t the best word choice. “It's not happening. Ever. If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first.” Although those weren’t the best words the Doctor could’ve used either.

“Okay.” Once again the hostess was the voice of the rebellion and Biff backed her up like a loyal bodyguard.

“Fine by me.”

“Oh, now you're being stupid. Just think about it. Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?”

“Calling me a coward?”

“Who put you in charge, anyway?” Merlin wanted to roll his eyes. He had taken charge since everyone else had been frozen in fear and Merlin preferred to work from the shadows. Leading was not his strong point.

“I'm sorry, but you're a Doctor of what, exactly?”

“He wasn't even booked in. The rest of you, tickets in advance. He just turned up out of the blue.” Now that was interesting. Merlin watched the Doctor closely for his reaction. Merlin thought all tickets had to be bought in advance. He had tried to secure a ticket but by the time he heard about the contest there were no more. The contest winners would have the last spot. This was extra strange considering the clear capacity for more passengers on the trip.

“I'm just travelling. I'm a traveller, that's all.” The Doctor backed away slightly.

“Like an immigrant?”

“Who were you talking to? Before you got on board, you were talking to someone. Who was that?”

“Just Donna. Just my friend,” he explained

“And what were you saying to her?”

“He hasn't even told us his name.”

He tried to stop himself, but Merlin admitted that some good questions had been raised. And if the Doctor was like himself, then there were many things he was hiding. “The thing is though, Doctor, you've been loving this.”

“Oh, Jethro, not you.”

Merlin mentally apologised for cracking the Doctor’s trust in him, but he could live with it. “No, but ever since all the trouble started, you've been loving it.”

“It has to be said, you do seem to have a certain glee,” Professor Hobbes added.

“Alright, I'm interested. Yes, I can't help it. Because whatever's inside her, it's brand new, and that's fascinating.”

“What, you wanted this to happen?” Val demanded.

“No.”

“And you were talking to her, all on your own, before all the trouble. Right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman, the two of you together. I saw you.” There were some good points before, but Biff marked the decline into stupidity. Merlin blocked them out and scoured his memory of everything the Doctor had said so far since the crash. It was usually how a person reacted in a crisis that revealed who they really were. One little thing stuck out.

“You called us humans like you're not one of us,” Merlin muttered. Unfortunately, others heard and latched onto this.

“He did. That's what he said.” Val picked it up first.

“And the wiring,” Dee Dee added. “He went into that panel and opened up the wiring.” Merlin wasn’t sure how that was connected to the Doctor being human or not.

“That was after.” The Doctor was also confused.

“But how did you know what to do?” Biff questioned.

“Because I'm clever!” the Doctor shouted in frustration.

There was a moment of blissful silence before Professor Hobbes spoke. “I see. Well, that makes things clear.”

“And what are we, then? Idiots?” Merlin wanted to tell Biff that yes, he was an idiot but the Doctor spoke first

“That's not what I meant,” he explained in a calmer voice.

“If you're clever, then what are we?”

“You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in.”

“Even if he goes, he's practically volunteered.”

“Oh come on, just listen to yourself, please.”

“Do you mean we throw him out as well?” All eyes snapped to Biff.

“If we have to,” the hostess agreed. Merlin wanted so badly to use his magic and freeze time so that he could figure this out on his own. He was no longer sure if he wanted the Doctor to help. He did seem to genuinely want to help.

“I know you're scared,” he was saying. “And so am I. Look at me, I am. But we have all got to calm down and cool off and think.”

Yet Merlin was still feeling like there was a puzzle here.

It was the hostess who brought it to light. “Perhaps you could tell us your name.”

“What does it matter?” he quickly said.

“Then tell us,” she retorted.

“John Smith.” Lie. But it came with so little hesitation that it held some familiarity for the man. Maybe he had used the name before. Frequently.

“He's lying. Look at his face.”

“His eyes are the same as hers.”

“Why won't you tell us?” Merlin also asked. There were a few answers he could accept; he would be a hypocrite if he didn’t. No one on this bus knew who he really was.

“It's a simple enough question.” Dee Dee crossed her arms across her chest.

“He's been lying to us right from the start.” Val pointed an accusing finger.

“What's your name?” The Hostess brandish the question like a kitchen knife.

“No one's called John Smith.” Biff scoffed. “Come off it.”

The Doctor backed away with his hands up. “Now listen to me. Listen to me right now, because you need me, all of you. If we are going to get out of this, then you need me.”

Hobbes didn’t take this for a second. “So you keep saying. You've been repeating yourself more than her.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of Sky and Merlin’s eyes followed.

“If anyone's in charge, it should be the Professor,” Val was arguing. Merlin stared at Sky in shock. It confirmed what he had thought he heard. Or rather what he hadn’t heard.

“Mum, stop. Just look.”

“You keep out of this, Jethro,” Biff snapped, not even glancing in his direction.

“Look at her!” Merlin snapped back, his eyes not leaving Sky’s still lips. Dee Dee said what everyone was seeing.

“She's stopped.”

 

 


	8. Synchronization

Chapter 8: Synchronization

The Doctor looked surprised. “When did she? No, she hasn't.” As the Doctor spoke, Sky continued to speak in sync with him. “She's still doing it.” Merlin cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“She looks the same to me,” Val said. Just Val. Sky remained silent. “No, she's stopped. Look, I'm talking, and she's not.”

“What about me, is she?” Biff tested next. “Look. Look at that. She's not doing me. She's let me go.”

“Mrs Silvestry? Nor me. Nothing.” Same with the hostess.

“Sky, what are you doing?” the Doctor and Sky asked as he crept closer.

“Doctor, it's you,” the Professor observed. “She's only copying you.”

“Why me? Why are you doing this?”

“She won't leave him alone.” Dee Dee edged backwards. Merlin had to admit he was mystified. It was oddly more worrying now that the creature seemed to have chosen a victim. But Merlin couldn't understand why the Doctor was chosen. Not that the Doctor understood it either. He would have expected that it would have chosen him since it was his magic that gave it strength. But maybe not. Sky had looked at his funny when he tried to communicate telepathically. Maybe she was afraid of him. Maybe that was too much to hope for.

“Mrs Silvestry, I'm trying to understand.” The Doctor was now crouched on the floor in front of Sky again. “You've captured my speech. What for? What do you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? Because I'm the only one who can help? Oh, I'd love that to be true, but your eyes, they're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So, what do you think?”

“Do we have a deal?” There was a repeat again, only, no. But yes.

“Hold on, did she?” Dee Dee whispered.

Merlin nodded in shock. “She spoke first.”

“She can't have,” Val denied.

“She did,” Hobbes affirmed.

“She spoke first.” Merlin couldn’t help but repeat himself. This was new. And he wasn’t sure what it meant. He was forced to cross out more than half of his theorems now.

“Oh, look at that. I'm ahead of you,” Sky said.

“Oh, look at that. I'm ahead of you.” The Doctor seemed frozen on the ground. Unable to move, just like Sky had been initially.

“He's copying her,” Merlin said out loud. Was this the beginning of a new cycle.

“Doctor, what's happening?” Hobbes asked.

“I think it's moved,” Sky answered with the Doctor repeated in a daze. “I think it's letting me go.” Merlin had thought the next stage would have been the creature predicting what the Doctor might say and then just speaking first, but this sounded like the creature had complete control over the Doctor now.

Dee Dee looked as confused as he was. “What do you mean? Letting you go from what?”

“They're separating,” Merlin said. Only as he said it, he realized it wasn’t quite right.

“Mrs Silvestry, is that you?” The hostess stepped forward and asked.

“Yes. Yes, it's me.” Sky slowly stood up but the Doctor remained on the floor and helplessly repeated “Yes. Yes, it's me.”

“I'm coming back. Listen,” she continued. “It's me.”

“It’s like it's passed into the Doctor,” Merlin guessed again. “It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside him.”

“No, that's not what happened.” Merlin looked over at Dee Dee. She seemed very confident. He waited for her to continue but she did not. Sky continued to stretch her muscles as she spoke and Merlin was forced to return his attention to the show going on up front.

“Look at me, I can move. I can feel again. I'm coming back to life. And look at him. He can't move. Help me. Professor? Get me away from him. Please.” Professor Hobbes walked over and helped steady her as she stepped over the broken seats and left the Doctor behind. Merlin couldn’t deny what his eyes saw. The Doctor was no longer the Doctor. He wasn’t sure Sky was completely the same, but the creature seemed to have moved on to possessing the Doctor. The pattern would reverse now. He would be repeating only Sky for a while and then move back to repeating all of them as he grew stronger.

“She's free,” Val exclaimed. “She's been saved.” She gave Sky a hug like she was a long lost friend.

“Oh, it was so cold,” Sky was saying.

“Oh, it was so cold.”

“I couldn't breathe.” She had a far off look like she was remembering the horror of being taken over.

“I couldn't breathe.”

“I'm sorry. I must have scared you so much.” She glanced around at the adults in the cabin.

“I’m sorry. I must have scared you so much.”

Val was quick to reassure her. “No, no, it's all right. I've got you. Ooo, there you are, my love. It's gone. Everything's all right now.”

Dee Dee spoke up hesitantly. “I wouldn't touch her.”

“But it's gone,” Biff told her. “She's clean. It passed into him.”

“That's not what happened,” she replied.

“Thank you for your opinion, Dee,” Professor Hobbes snapped. “But clearly Mrs Silvestry has been released.”

“No.”

Just leave her alone. She's safe, isn't she?” Val turned to Merlin. “Jethro, it's let her go, hasn't it?” Of all the times for her to suddenly want his opinion, she had to pick something that was confusing him and bringing up unpleasant memories of the fomorroh. He decided to play it safe and hope he could figure out what he actually thought later.

“I think so, yeah. Looks like it. Professor?”

“I'd say, from observation, the Doctor can't move. And when she was possessed, she couldn't move, so,” he trailed off and Merlin nodded. That was his train of thought as well.

“Well, there we are then.” Biff clapped his hands together with a resounding crack. “Now the only problem we've got is this Doctor.”

“It's inside his head,” Sky confided in them.

“It's inside his head.”

“It killed the driver.” Sky must remember something from when the creature was inside her.

“It killed the driver.”

“And the mechanic.”

“And the mechanic.”

“And now it wants us.”

“And now it wants us.” That was new. But did she mean all of them? Why had it let Sky go then? Maybe she wasn’t strong enough. The Doctor had said he was the cleverest and there was something different about him.

“I said so,” Val declared in case anyone couldn’t remember that she didn’t say so.

“He's waited so long,” Sky began with the Doctor repeating everything moments behind. “In the dark. And the cold. And the diamonds. Until you came.” Merlin felt the hair on the back of his neck begin to raise. “Bodies so hot. With blood. And pain.”

“Stop!” Val screeched. “Oh, my God, make him stop. Someone make him stop.”

Dee Dee shook her head. “But she's saying it.”

“And you can shut up.” Val did not appreciate being told she was wrong in a moment of panic.

“But it's not him,” she explained. “It's her. He's just repeating.”

“But that's what the thing does, it repeats,” Biff argued.

The hostess held up a hand to stop him though. “Just let her talk.”

Unfortunately that didn’t work. “What do you know? Fat lot of good you've been.”

“Just let her explain.” They all turned to Dee Dee. Merlin was especially wondering if her theories would help fill in the missing pieces in his own.

“I think.” She paused and drew herself up like she was giving a report. “I mean, from what I've seen, it repeats, then it synchronises, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what the Doctor said would happen.” Merlin nodded slowly.

“What, and you're on his side?” Merlin was amazed Dee Dee managed not to roll her eyes as she replied.

“No.”

Merlin cut in before an argument flared up. “The voice is the thing.” Dee Dee smiled at him.

“And she's the voice. She stole it. Look at her. It's not possessing him, it's draining him.”

“She's got his voice.” The hostess seemed to understand what she was saying.

“But that's not true, because it can't.” And there was the crux of all Val’s arguments, Merlin thought. I lack the imagination to believe in the unusual means it doesn’t exist. “Because I saw it pass into him. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“So did I.”

“You didn't,” Dee Dee argued.

“It went from her, to him.” Val turned to him. “You saw it, didn't you?”

“I don't know,” he responded. Something latched onto the Doctor. That didn’t mean it released Sky though. Both of them seemed to be controlled by an outside source but maybe Sky was controlling the Doctor.

“Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro. Of course you did.”

“I suppose he was right next to her,” he mumbled mostly to shut her up.

“Everyone saw it. Everyone.”

“You didn't. You're just making it up. I know what I saw, and I saw her stealing his voice.” Dee Dee was getting frustrated now.

“She's as bad as him. Someone shut her up,” Val sniped.

“I think you should be quiet, Dee,” Professor Hobbes agreed.

“Well, I'm only saying”

“And that's an order!” Hobbes snapped. “You're making a fool of yourself, pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average at best. Now shut up.”

“That's how he does it,” Sky whispered into the tense silence. The Doctor echoed as no one else spoke. “He makes you fight. Creeps into your head.” Sky crept closer. Looking each of them in the eye. “And whispers.” Merlin shivered as they made eye contact. Her eyes were too empty. “Listen.” She held up a finger. “Just listen. That's him. Inside.”

“Throw him out,” Biff growled.

“Get him out of my head,” Val agreed.

“Yeah, we should throw him out.”

“Don't just talk about it, just. You're useless. Do something.”

“I will. You watch me. I'm going to throw him out.” Biff started forward and Merlin started to panic.

“Yes,” Sky agreed. There wasn’t enough time left for Merlin to figure out what was really going on. “Throw him out.” He ran his fingers through his hair and kneaded the back of his neck as he tried to figure this out. “Get rid of him.” The Doctor clearly couldn't move and had no control over his own actions. “Now.” Sky appeared to be very much in control and was agreeing with everyone else that the Doctor needed to go. She knew what the monster had been thinking but maybe that was only residual knowledge from being possessed.

“Don't!” Dee Dee yelled as Biff grabbed a hold of the Doctor’s ankles and began to pull.

“It'll be you next,” Val growled from the side.

“Don't think we should do this,” the hostess said hesitantly.

“It was your idea. Professor, help me.”

“I can't. I'm not.” He backed away.

“What sort of a man are you? Come on.” Biff, Val, and Sky kept encouraging the others to help as Biff grabbed the Doctor and tried to pull him towards the door. Everyone was yelling and there was so much noise so Merlin couldn’t concentrate. Crumpling under the pressure, he rigidly moved forward to take a hold of one of the Doctor’s ankles. He still didn’t know if it was the right choice but something needed to be done. The Doctor certainly wasn’t acting like himself and Merlin didn’t know if he could fix him so maybe it was better this way. Together they tugged the lanky man towards the door. His foot got caught on a seat but Hobbes wrenched it free. Suddenly a bright light flooded the cabin and Merlin involuntarily yelped and dropped the Doctor to cover his eyes against the harsh light. Blinking furiously, he sees the hostess standing at the doorway, holding Sky, framed against the harsh exterior light of Midnight.

“Four, five, six.” The pressure wall collapses and the two women are sucked out into the brightness and the doors slid closed behind them.

The other men have released their hold on the Doctor and he quickly rolls onto his back, breathing frantically.

“It's gone. It's gone. It's gone,” he mutters to himself in relief, unable to stop. “It's gone, it's gone, it's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone.” Merlin collapses back into the nearest seat. It could’ve gone so wrong. He made the wrong call. He had condemned an innocent.

“I said it was her,” Val spoke into the silence. The glare the Doctor shot her as he sat up was like a cold steel dagger to the heart. She didn’t speak again.

 

 


	9. Under the Palm Trees

It was another twenty minutes still before the rescue vehicle came alongside and brought them back to the leisure palace. No one spoke unless absolutely necessary. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Merlin did not speak to Val or Biff as he walked past them and lay down on his bed. He proceeded to ignore their offers of food and tried to lose himself in a book. It was later that evening that he left the room with the goal of apologizing to the Doctor. He hoped the man would forgive him, but he couldn’t be sure until he tried.

He found the man sitting on a bench under a patch of tall palm trees, looking out over the surface. Merlin hesitated for a minute but then he slid onto the bench next to the other man. The Doctor didn’t acknowledge his presence.

“I’ve come to apologize.” Now the Doctor glanced at him.

“What for?”

“For trying to throw you out of the plane. I should have known the creature was still in Sky and was using you. I should have been able to figure out that you weren’t the problem. I should not have fallen to masses. I should have--”

“Jethro,” the Doctor cut him off sternly and waited until Merlin looked into his eyes. “You have nothing to apologize for. This was not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything.” Merlin only scoffed at this. If he hadn’t come here then his magic would not have woken the creature. And if he had been braver he might have used his magic to protect them all instead of hiding in the back of the crowd.

“I could have protected us all if I wasn’t so scared,” he protested bitterly to the thick glass wall.

“I don’t believe that for one minute. Something about you reminds me of myself and I believe some part of you stopped you for a good reason. Maybe if you had interfered it would’ve been much worse than it already was. So if you held back for some reason than I am grateful, Jethro.”

“Merlin,” he said impulsively.

“What?”

“My name.” He looked at the Doctor again with a small smile. “My name is Merlin.” The Doctor’s eyebrow shot up and the corners of his lips twitched.

“An honour to meet you properly then, Merlin.” He held out his hand and they shook.

“You believe me?”

“What reason would you have to lie?”

“I lied to get here,” Merlin retorted.

“Fair enough,” the Doctor conceded. “How were you planning on getting home?”

“Haven’t thought about it much. I figured I would continue pretending to be Jethro a little longer and head back to Earth with Val and Biff.” Merlin looked decidedly unhappy about enduring more time with the two adults.

“I could give you a lift home.” Merlin looked back up at the Doctor.

“If I accept, would you tell me more about yourself? There’s something about you my magic is picking up on even all bound up like it is right now.” The Doctor cocked his head to the side.

“Why is it bound?”

“Even in orbit I could feel something from the planet trying to steal it from me,” he explained. “I think that is what gave the creature enough energy to wake up and inhabit Sky. I have kept it completely bound up inside since I first felt the tugging. I can’t wait to get far enough away to let it loose again.”

“We can leave in fifteen minutes.” The Doctor grinned as he stood. “I have to find Donna, but I will meet you by the pool.” Merlin stood to his feet as well with a wide smile.

“I’ll be there in ten.”

 

_fin_

 

 


	10. Cover Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to add the cover art that my friend made because she is amazing. Find her at sexyfortune on tumblr.

[ ](http://imgur.com/ZFlOjc5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just excuse the byline that doesn't quite match because I had to change it from my real name.


End file.
